Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011
Floor Speech
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further proceedings will resume on the bill (H.R. 910) to amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas to address climate change, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
MOTION TO RECOMMIT
Mr. McNERNEY. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. McNERNEY. I am opposed.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. McNerney moves to recommit the bill H.R. 910 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce with instructions to report the same to the House forthwith with the following amendment:
At the end of the bill, add the following:
SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND SENIORS.
Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), as in effect on the day prior to the date of enactment of this Act, to protect the health of vulnerable children and seniors, including children with asthma and lung diseases, from the effects of air pollution by large sources that emit 75,000 tons or more of carbon air pollution per year.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California is recognized for 5 minutes in support of the motion.
Mr. McNERNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer an important motion to recommit to H.R. 910. My motion is a straightforward amendment to guarantee that America's most vulnerable children and seniors, including children with asthma and lung diseases, can be protected from the Nation's biggest polluters.
The Clean Air Act became law at a time when our cities were enveloped in smog. And since then, the act has stopped the most egregious polluters and improved public health. This motion is a substantial, important amendment, and if passed, the motion allows a vote to immediately proceed on final passage of H.R. 910. We can reduce air pollution in a way that will create jobs, strengthen our economy, bolster our national defense, and improve the health of our children.
I am gravely concerned that H.R. 910 will threaten the health and safety of our most vulnerable Americans. There's a clear connection between air pollution and respiratory diseases, and the motion I'm offering makes sure that our children can lead healthy lives.
Asthma is an especially serious threat to America's children. This problem is national in scope, but my home State is uniquely affected. I'm honored to represent part of California's San Joaquin Valley, but, unfortunately, the air quality is a persistent challenge in our communities. In fact, as many as one in five children in the valley have been diagnosed with asthma. My own son and daughter developed the condition when they moved to an area of California's Central Valley with hot temperatures and poor air quality. I know from personal experience how vitally important it is to make sure our kids have fresh, healthy air.
I'm confident that every Member of this body shares my desire to reduce the incidence of asthma among America's children. Keeping our children healthy is not a partisan issue. Fighting for the health, happiness, and well-being of our children unites us as citizens, as parents, as friends, and as neighbors.
But the statistics are sobering. According to the American Lung Association, asthma affects more than 7 million children, and more than 4 million of those children suffer from an asthma attack each year. Asthma kills 5,000 people each year in the United States and causes 14 million missed school days annually.
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Treating asthma costs our country more than $20 billion every year. In fact, every day in America, 40,000 people miss work or school due to asthma; 30,000 people have an asthma attack; and 11 die from asthma. These are real children, real people.
That is why I am offering this simple, straightforward motion to recommit today. My proposal is a commonsense improvement that makes sure that our country preserves the ability to protect the air quality for our children and seniors. The text of the motion is very clear, and explicitly says that our goal is to protect children with asthma and lung disease from the effects of air pollution.
I also want to make one other point clear. Just as I know that every Member of this body cares about the health and well-being of America's children, I also know that we care about our country's economic recovery. Many in this Chamber feel passionately that we should do everything that we can to make sure that small businesses and family farms can grow and prosper without facing unnecessary regulatory burdens. I am proud to represent a district with a rich agricultural history, and I want everyone to know that this motion protects family farmers and small businesses. This motion is explicitly limited in scope to large facilities that emit 70,000 tons or more of carbon annually.
In closing, I ask my friends and colleagues in the majority to reflect on what this amendment says and what your vote will mean. The amendment simply says that ``nothing in the act shall limit the authority of the EPA to protect the health of vulnerable children and seniors from the effects of air pollution.'' What can be more simple than that? I ask my colleagues to do the right thing for our children and seniors and support this motion to recommit.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. UPTON. I would remind my colleagues, this is a procedural vote. H.R. 910 does not impact asthma. Frankly, our side would have liked to have debated this amendment. It was not offered to the Rules Committee. It was offered in committee, where it was rejected on a voice vote.
If you read the endangerment finding, you will see that asthma is mentioned one time. As to asthma, EPA's endangerment finding refers only once to the term ``asthma,'' and then only in the context of wildfires and particulate matter which is already regulated. So it doesn't change that.
If you care about jobs, you are going to vote ``yes'' on the bill. If you care about not increasing gas prices beyond $4, where they are in much of the country today, you will vote for the bill, which means you ought to vote ``no'' on the motion to recommit and ``yes'' on final passage.
The Clean Air Act regulates 188 different pollutants. H.R. 910 doesn't change one of those. So please, my colleagues, vote ``no'' on the motion to recommit and ``yes'' on final passage.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it.
RECORDED VOTE
Mr. McNERNEY. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
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